i was here for all these shows,and as usual Alpine was a fun time.i'll keep this short.i distinctly remember standing about at the back center edge of the pavilion when the Stella blue started to go so not regular and thinking to myself " Oh No ! i think he is having a stroke !" however,he pulled it together,and in classic Jerry style,after a mistake,ripped up the solo.all these years later,i still wonder about the discombobulated Stella- was he just pulling our leg? Stella.the big moment.the slow ballad.all the expectation and weight .i mean,it's not just a mistake or two,he played that song all the time.to mess it up like that,i can't believe it is possible for him.and if he were to pull a fast one.Stella,is really the perfect tune.if you look at the sentiment of this song,and then turn it on it's head, it's really is tongue and cheek funny.like - i'll take the most important thing i say, and just make a complete backwards joke of it.and see if anyone gets it,or is bummed,or if they just want to beat me for screwing it up.then i'll know who my friends are. i can almost hear him saying something like,' Ha Ha,wait till they hear this,this'll freak out all my little lovebirds!' i mean,it's not like the guy didn't have a seriously dry sense of humour now and then.- just a nutty thought from a person who really liked seeing The Grateful Dead

These were good times! Sort of hard to listen to the harsh critics about Jerry's memory, etc....
The guy gave it his all. He came back from the Dead, literally, and yeah he had some moments when he forget licks, etc... However, for those who were there, we remember the first Foolish Heart and Blow away; New Songs! Great tunes. The band was fluent, the crowd ecstatic to feel the general positive attitude and effort by the band. These are great set lists for this whole week! Anybody capping on Jerry forgetting a chord or two, obviously hasn't played an instrument themselves. Happens to everybody. Same people would probably be pissed if PigPen came back from the grave and did "I'll be a Hog for You Baby" right before drums, because it doesn't fit your idea of how they "should" sound.
This show is downright fun sounding, so enjoy!

The Dead get one star for just walking in the building. Another star for playing some good tunes. The sound quality isn't that hot and the playing is spotting in places, I couldn't tell if it was the band, the equipment, or the recording. There are definitely better shows out there, but I love listening to these guys, even on an off night. Peace and hang loose.

Bobby stood in front of Garcia for the first half of Stella, pounding his foot, showing him the chords, to no avail. Garcia remembered how to play for the solo. Two months later in Golden Road he proclaimed Stella Blue to be his favorite song. The version at SPAC a week later is hot. Must've listened to the record to see how it went!

Wow, wide variety of opinions
1st Set: See, I'm growing weary of these rough shoddy AUD's being the sole remnant from these probably oft-recorded shows. Anyways, "LTGTR" sounds brisk and eager. "Hell" is satisfying but won't burn down any houses. "Candyman" is thin but strolls without much roughage. The "Walkin" that follows is meatier and thicker. The decently executed 'standard blues number' closing breakdown makes this version stand out. "Push" Yay?! skippable. "Queen Jane" is adequately performed, but there's something magical missing... not as sadly wistful as usual. "Tennessee" has never been one of my faves due to the melodic monotony and this draggy version doesn't snap, crackle or pop. "Let" has the briskness and appropriate briskness but the jammy sections are muddled and definitely not revelatory of anything mandatory.

2nd Set: 'Let's' hope this set of music is of a higher fuel grade. "Foolish" is played for the second time in three days at the top of the second set, but this version is the lesser - flat upon liftoff. "LLR" is successful as its kept simple and straight-forward and Jerry doesn't have to deviate from a pattern he's perfected after playing the tune at least a few hundred times. It's also quite long at 10:31... might as well milk it knowing that although the intentions behind "Scarlet" are rosy, the execution is still DOA. Alright, a debut... "I Will Take You Home" is one of the Dead's most genuine grounded ballads...and although this version is poignant, Brent's singing is rushed and the band's empty (besides an affecting slide by ?) accompaniments (late 2's) are a bit disconcerting considering how unlike 'Hell' this is... "Drums/Space" pass as they do. "The Wheel" attempts establishing the first uptempo song of the second but fails to get aggressive or build a head of steam. "Stella" is just seemingly off for no good reason than tonight's efforts are for naught. "Lovelight" Bobby makes sure to add some ridiculous scratchy-hysterics to make up for tonight...it's extended beyond the 5 1/2 minute version with some skitter-skat and noise and stuff.

Encoring with a deliberate sticky "Quinn"

2 2/5th stars

1 or 2 stars??? Get real....solid 4 star show! The first set has a great groove!! Jerry is having fun, Bob's vocals are excellent, and if the set list isn't quite top tier, there's not a weak song in the set! As for those who don't like the Scarlet > Take You Home in the 2nd...well, listening to it as I write this, I have goosebumps! Long live Brent! .... And I'll never forget that girl with the flowers in her long brown hair....smiling at me...OK...had to be there for that...but if Stella is a bit wobbly, they make a quick recovery with a ROCKIN' Lovelight....so 4 stars!!!

I remember the Stella Who? as Jerry had a hard time with the lyrics. I still enjoyed the show. I'm not too critical of when they had an off night. I'm very appreciative of the whole experience of being at every show. Hot & dry all week.

This would be a candidate for one of the worst shows I ever saw. I completely agree with the other reviewers, I Will Take You Home needed placement somewhere OTHER than right before Drums.

The Stella Blue is pretty bad. At least when they blew "Blackbird" the next night 6/23/88, they were laughing at themselves. There's not much to laugh at here. Still, a bad show is the price you pay for a group that constantly went out on a limb, courting the muse; sometimes they fell flat on their ass. At least they picked themselves up off the ground and wailed the next night.

Oh, and yes, it was dry as a bone this entire run (thanks to the big drought). Gooney Birds were aplenty. :)

Sean K.

...for the worst positioned debut song ever. How do you debut something as saccharinny as "I Will Take You Home" after a "Scarlet Begonias" that had redeemed an otherwise dismal show for me? What were they thinking? If ever a song deserved a first set debut, that was the one...NOT OUT OF SCARLET BEGONIAS!!!! Jeesh...

...and the Stella Blue is hilarious. Jerry started singin' too early, and it just completely threw him off. He had that deer in the headlights look about him as he mumbled into the mic trying desparately to remember what song they were playing...

He remembered eventually...

Not sure what was going on, equipment issues or Jer just spacing on how to play this tune. But, it has a quite confused beginning. Still a good show.